Sharing can make a world of difference!

www.medshare.org

MedShare International has a dual mission of providing humanitarian medical aid to economically developing countries and of helping to improve our local environment. Since 1998, MedShare has shipped over $50 million worth of surplus medical supplies and equipment to hospitals and clinics around the world while saving over a million cubic feet of landfill space.

MedShare Spotlight on:
A Special Thank You to our Volunteers

Our volunteers breathe the life into MedShare, and in honor of the recent Volunteer Appreciation Week April 19-26, we want to say thank you. Each week, you spend hours sorting through a sea of medical supplies, repackaging them for inventory and creating surgical kits, among other duties. Without that time and commitment, MedShare would never have been able to send over 465 forty-foot containers of medical supplies and equipment to 76 countries.

Because of you, hundreds of thousands of people in need all over the world have been granted access to better healthcare. Doctors in Liberia have sutures to stitch up open wounds. In Guatemala, medical staff has surgical gloves to protect themselves and the patient from infection. The impact that you have made is almost immeasurable.

“In looking over the history of MedShare, I am constantly reminded how many hands have helped make all this possible. Our volunteers are the lifeblood of the organization and without them, MedShare would not exist,” expresses our Co-founder and CEO, A.B. Short.

At Medshare headquarters in Decatur, we are celebrating 10 years of accomplishments, with a record year in 2008. Last year, we totaled 7,818 volunteers, who logged in 27,643 hours and sorted 401,420 lbs of medical supplies. This adds up to an astounding $539,310 in volunteer time!

On the West Coast, MedShare West celebrates its first year in operation with astounding growth of volunteers! Since opening its doors last October, MedShare West has had 1,159 of volunteers totaling 5,250 hours served sorting and packaging supplies, along with other important duties that have helped us grow in leaps and bounds. On MLK National Day of Service in January, MedShare West held a Super Sort event, where they had a record turnout of volunteers, with some driving over 100 miles to participate!

“The passion for the mission shows in the support and dedication of our volunteers, and I’m continually amazed and grateful. We have some volunteers that come in several days each week, bringing baked goods, recruiting more volunteers and going above and beyond to improve the efficiency of our operations at MedShare. We would not be here without them,” said Executive Director at MedShare West, Chuck Haupt.

MedShare has several volunteers that earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award, for donating 100 hours or more of their time. We are greatly appreciative to the following people for their extraordinary dedication towards advancing MedShare’s mission:

From all of us here at MedShare, we’d like to thank every volunteer for your support and hardwork! You have each had a hand in impacting our environment and lives across the world.

Shipment Update

During the month of April, MedShare International shipped containers filled with vital medical supplies and equipment to healthcare institutions in different countries. The recipients were:

• Turkey
  Kizilay - Turkish Red Crescent Society
• Nicaragua
  Ministerio de Salud Nicaragua/KC
• Democratic Republic of Congo
  INSS
• Guatemala
  KC/SOSEP (First Lady's office)
• Togo
  Foundation Spero/Bread of Life Church
• United States
  Gleaning for the World
• Vietnam   MedShare West
  Khahn Hoa Hospital

For more information and ways to support MedShare International,
please visit www.medshare.org or call 770-323-5858.